Fools Step In

In 1988 we inherited a partly stitched tablecloth. Only one corner had been started, there were no threads and no instructions.

Freestyle, I thought, not a countable ground, I thought. Why not, I thought? You have to give it a try, don't you! So what did I know about this style of embroidery? Nothing, but we had books of stitches and the most important of my embroidery resources, Jane-Beth.

I didn't so much step as leap in feet first.

I did have one guide, the outline was printed on the linen.  A small portion had been stitched, but even to my untutored eye the stitching was poorly executed, too loose in some places and so tight in others that it pulled and puckered the linen. I carefully unpicked what had been done, carefully pressed out the puckers and started again.

The cloth is about 3' square, the floss is stranded cotton. I learned how to do running stitch, chain stitch, satin stitch and French knots and how to secure my ends on the reverse. I discovered that French knots are a pain in the neck and it takes a lot of practice to make them all the same.

The quilt behind the tablecloth is Jane-Beth's handiwork, a full floor to floor double bed quilt in 1" hexagons, all done by hand!